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Recently I've been thrown into the foresty industry, much like I was thrown amongst the oil and gas industry in the past. While my line of work is not directly related to any of these, they need me and I need them. I need them because they provide me with an income. They need me for legal and logistical reasons. While I've always known that I was in a field that 'destroys' part of the environment, I've never really considered that before. Now, living in a environmentally sensitive province, I can't help but think of what effect I have on the world around me.
Progress, is where the problem lies. Economies aren't successful if there is no growth, no monentary gain, no progress. And in this capitalist society, this so-called progress often exploites the natural resources that we, who chose to live in a certain place, now claim as our own. Does it bother me that I allow for the destruction of our forests? I used to look at a cutblock, and see economy in action, supply of goods that we desire and can not do without. But now, as I walk through old growth forests with 15' diametre trees, I can't help but think "shouldn't this be kept for other people to enjoy". What do you enjoy more? A beautiful tree in a park, or the desk that you sit in each day. Would you enjoy a forest that's been carefully groomed (like Germany's Black Forest), or is it the draw of the wilds that provides more enjoyment. Actually, is it enjoyment that should be gained, or is it instead, the role that the trees play, as agents against erosion and for oxygen production.
So what is to happen? Are trees as renewable as we would like them to be? Are they renewable simply so we can cut them down again? Is the water that runs around them, underneath them, available for exploitation in the same way? Can we use it, sell it, in our pursuit for progress in the 21st century? How much of the world around us can be taken for granted? Will that stream continue to flow 20 years from now? Will these trees continue to survive in a warmer climate? Already the fish are disappearing, the frogs, and countless other species we've simply failed to notice. Will we be next?
Progress, is where the problem lies. Economies aren't successful if there is no growth, no monentary gain, no progress. And in this capitalist society, this so-called progress often exploites the natural resources that we, who chose to live in a certain place, now claim as our own. Does it bother me that I allow for the destruction of our forests? I used to look at a cutblock, and see economy in action, supply of goods that we desire and can not do without. But now, as I walk through old growth forests with 15' diametre trees, I can't help but think "shouldn't this be kept for other people to enjoy". What do you enjoy more? A beautiful tree in a park, or the desk that you sit in each day. Would you enjoy a forest that's been carefully groomed (like Germany's Black Forest), or is it the draw of the wilds that provides more enjoyment. Actually, is it enjoyment that should be gained, or is it instead, the role that the trees play, as agents against erosion and for oxygen production.
So what is to happen? Are trees as renewable as we would like them to be? Are they renewable simply so we can cut them down again? Is the water that runs around them, underneath them, available for exploitation in the same way? Can we use it, sell it, in our pursuit for progress in the 21st century? How much of the world around us can be taken for granted? Will that stream continue to flow 20 years from now? Will these trees continue to survive in a warmer climate? Already the fish are disappearing, the frogs, and countless other species we've simply failed to notice. Will we be next?
posted by meesh @ 7:55 p.m.
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